Allergan Rises After David Tepper’s Appaloosa Ups Pressure on the Struggling Drugmaker (CNBC)
Allergan shares rose Tuesday after renowned hedge fund manager David Tepper increased his pressure on the drugmaker, calling for the company to jump-start the business with new strategies and recommending again that it separate the CEO and chairman roles. The stock rose about 1 percent Tuesday morning after the Appaloosa Management president lambasted Allergan’s executives, characterizing recent decision-making at $47 billion Allergan as “self-inflicted wounds” and marred by “ill-considered initiatives.”
Hedge Fund Manager Makes Record Donation to Cambridge University (Reuters)
LONDON (Reuters) – Cambridge University has received its largest-ever single donation of 100 million pounds ($130.1 million) from British hedge fund manager David Harding and his wife Claudia, the University said on Tuesday. The majority of the donation from the David and Claudia Harding foundation will fund PhD students while the remaining 21 million pounds will be used to support undergraduates.
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Bridgewater Fired Forex Research Chief Over Office Romance (Bloomberg)
Bridgewater Associates, the $160 billion investment firm headed by Ray Dalio, fired a senior manager over how an office romance was handled, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Bridgewater claimed Bob Elliott, who was head of foreign-exchange research, didn’t properly disclose the relationship, the people said. Elliott told superiors about the relationship with a female colleague and believes he was dismissed without cause, one of the people said. The woman, who was at the firm for three years and didn’t report to Elliott, also was fired.
Growing Field of Activist Investors Pushes Companies to Perform Better (Reuters)
BOSTON (Reuters) – More investors who typically make passive bets flexed their muscles last year and helped push a total of 922 companies to perform better by improving operations and capital allocation, data from research group Activist Insight show. The data show that 922 companies were approached last year compared with 856 companies approached in 2017 by investors who had ideas on how management could run the business better or who asked for board seats.
Barclays’ Activist Investor Pushes for Seat on Board (WebFG)
American activist shareholder Edward Bramson has applied to join the board of Barclays, the FTSE 100 bank, it was announced on Tuesday. Bramson’s Sherborne Investments fund vehicle, which has a 5.1% stake in Barclays, has submitted a resolution to be considered at the bank’s 2 May annual general meeting, “for the purpose of appointing Edward Bramson to the board of directors of Barclays”.
Danish Manager Broadens Mandate with New Launch (HedgeNordic)
Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – In October of last year, Copenhagen-based HP Fondsmæglerselskab launched a hedge fund with a broader investment mandate than of their flagship fund HP Hedge Danish Bonds. The younger hedge fund called HP Hedge Fixed Income joins its sister fund in the Nordic Hedge Index (NHX). HP Hedge Fixed Income predominantly invests in Danish and Swedish mortgage bonds, but can also invest in short- and medium-term European government and mortgage bonds. HP Hedge Danish Bonds, which just recently was recognized as Europe’s best fixed-income hedge fund of 2018 at the EuroHedge Awards, mainly focuses on Danish government and mortgage bonds.
Hedge Fund Drops Offer to Acquire Parent of Dice.com (Staffing Industry Analysts)
Hedge fund TCS Capital Management LLC has decided not to pursue a possible acquisition of DHI Group Inc. (NYSE: DHX), which operates Dice.com and other job boards. TCS in August offered a buyout of DHI Group and threatened a proxy battle. The hedge fund in May had acquired a large stake in DHI Group. According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, TCS engaged in confidential discussions with management and the DHI board concerning a possible transaction to acquire the company at a price per share of at least $2.55, but has decided not to pursue a possible transaction involving the company at this time.
CEO of Activist Hedge Fund Starboard: ‘We Are Certainly Interested in the Story at Bristol-Myers’ (CNBC)
Starboard Value is “certainly interested in the story at Bristol-Myers,” Jeffrey Smith, co-founder and CEO of the activist hedge fund, told CNBC on Tuesday. However, Smith refused to comment on a weekend Bloomberg report about Starboard taking a stake in the embattled pharmaceutical giant, which last month agreed to buy troubled cancer drug company Celgene in a cash and stock deal valued at $74 billion.
Analyst Who Made $39,000 in an Hour Fined for Insider Trading (Bloomberg)
A former equity analyst who made more than 34,000 euros ($39,000) in an hour by investing in Vallourec SA just before he raised his own rating on the French company had his fine doubled by an appeals court. Ex-Kepler Cheuvreux SA analyst Geoffroy Stern will have to pay an extra 100,000 euros after France’s highest administrative court ruled that a lower jurisdiction erred in its ruling. The court found that he benefited from insider information when making trades based on draft recommendations written by him and others that the brokerage was set to publish hours later.
Strong Insider Buying Found in the Underlying Holdings of MLPA (Nasdaq.com)
A look at the weighted underlying holdings of the MLP ETF (MLPA) shows an impressive 23.8% of holdings on a weighted basis have experienced insider buying within the past six months. Energy Transfer Partners L.P. UNITS Repres (Symbol: ETP), which makes up 6.21% of the MLP ETF ( MLPA ), has seen 2 directors and officers purchase shares in the past six months, according to the recent Form 4 data. The ETF holds a total of $13,048,178 worth of ETP, making it the #6 largest holding.
The Mutual Fund Investments and Securities Exchange Introduced by HashCash Consultants is an Ace ATS to Curb Insider Trading (BizJournals.com)
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 05, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Up-to-date brokers are competing to incorporate technologically sophisticated alternative trading systems (ATS) to harness the benefits of real-time trading of securities. Catering to the growing demand for this service, Silicon Valley-based blockchain expert, HashCash Consultants, has introduced blockchain solutions dedicated to facilitating a swift transfer of assets while mitigating the scope of market abuse as well. The software development company is currently working with a few leading Mutual Funds in the US and Puerto Rico with a focus on Tokenized securities offering- one of the most practical uses of Blockchain.
A Quick $22 million Profit for Royal Commission Insider Trading? (TheNewDaily)
Last week Josh Frydenberg “guaranteed” the royal commission’s final report would not leak while the government sat on it for three days. About $22 million says that guarantee wasn’t worth anything. The welter of news in Kenneth Hayne’s report has tended to overshadow what appears to be some rather obvious insider trading. Someone, somewhere, somehow received a nod and wink on Monday morning that the banks would actually come out of the royal commission better than expected.
Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE:PEG) Insider Trading Activity – Chairman Sold 52,407 shares of Stock (MarketExclusive)
Insider Trading Activity For Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE:PEG): Ralph Izzo , Chairman of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE:PEG) reportedly Sold 52,407 shares of the company’s stock at an average price of 54.31 for a total transaction amount of $2,846,224.17 SEC Form. Insider Trading History For Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (NYSE:PEG): On 5/1/2013 William Levis, COO, sold 60,000 with an average share price of $36.85 per share and the total transaction amounting to $2,211,000.00. On 10/31/2013 Caroline Dorsa, CFO, bought 1,000 with an average share price of $33.04 per share and the total transaction amounting to $33,040.00. On 11/22/2013 Thomas Renyi, Director, sold 4,780 with an average share price of $33.67 per share and the total transaction amounting to $160,942.60.
